Mac mini 2011 VS Mac mini server 2011

Hello,

Please help me to choose between Mac mini and Mac mini server. I made my own configurations:

1. 2.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7;
8GB 1333MHzDDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB;
750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm + 256GB Solid State Drive;
AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR5 memory

VS

2. 2.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 with 6MBon-chip shared L3 cache;
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB;
750GB Serial ATA Drive+ 256 Solid State Drive.
Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

It seems to me that Mac mini server is cheaper and more powerful, so what’s the catch?

I need it for graphic design and little bit of gaming. Please give constructive comments.


Best wishes,
Mike

Here are the core differences:

1. The Mac mini has a higher clock speed, but fewer cores and 2/3 the L3 cache vs the server.
   
2. The Mac mini has a faster GPU with faster memory but 2/3 the memory.

Unless you are using apps and games that take full advantage of the extra cores, I'm inclined to side with the regular Mac mini. You have a better GPU with faster memory on it and the higher clock speed on the CPU may be more of an advantage over having more cores.

The server version has an integrated GPU which shares RAM with your main system RAM. The "regular" Mac Mini has a dedicated/discreet GPU with it's own RAM (not shared). This should give your games a bit of a bump. I was in the same decision position as you, but went with the mid-grade Mini yesterday. I'll be upping the RAM and hard drive myself via OWC.....Apple's upgrades are unnecessarily expensive.